Nightfall Prophecy

Chapter 24: The Crimson Reckoning

The clash of steel and fire illuminated the battlefield as Celestine pushed forward, her heart pounding like a war drum. Every step toward Valerius felt like wading through a storm—shadows curling at her feet, the air thick with the stench of blood and magic.

Lucien and Draven fought beside her, cutting through the enemy ranks with ruthless efficiency. The Forsaken, hardened by years of exile, held their ground. But Valerius's forces were relentless, and for every foe they struck down, more took their place.

Then, in the eye of the storm, Valerius waited.

His golden gaze gleamed with amusement, his stance relaxed despite the chaos around him. He raised a hand, and the battlefield seemed to tremble in response.

Celestine's breath hitched as the ground beneath them cracked open, dark tendrils of magic seeping into the air.

"Enough of this," Valerius murmured, and with a flick of his wrist, the world shattered.

A force unlike anything Celestine had ever felt ripped through her, hurling her backward. Pain exploded in her chest as she crashed into the ground, her vision swimming. Around her, the battle seemed to slow—warriors frozen in time, suspended in a haze of darkness.

Valerius loomed over her, his presence suffocating.

"You've always belonged to me, Celestine," he whispered, kneeling beside her. "And now, it's time you remembered."

A sharp pain lanced through her mind. Memories—not her own, but ancient, buried deep within her blood—surfaced in an agonizing flood. Visions of a past life, of a war long forgotten. Of her, standing beside Valerius, not as his enemy—

—but as his queen.

Celestine gasped, her pulse racing. No… this isn't real.

Lucien's furious snarl tore through the air, and in an instant, he was there, slamming into Valerius with bone-crushing force. The spell shattered, releasing Celestine from its grasp.

Draven appeared beside her, his expression dark with worry. "Celestine—what did he do?"

She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to stand. Her hands trembled, power crackling at her fingertips. "I don't know. But I'm going to end this."

Valerius rose to his feet, brushing dust from his cloak. He smiled, slow and knowing. "You think you have a choice?"

Before Celestine could respond, the sky above them cracked—a sound like the breaking of reality itself. A deep, ancient force stirred in the air, and a voice, neither human nor mortal, whispered through the battlefield.

It has begun.

A sudden wave of darkness consumed them all.

Chapter 25: The Abyss Beckons

Darkness swallowed Celestine whole.

A bone-chilling void wrapped around her, pulling her deeper into an abyss she couldn't escape. The battlefield was gone—Lucien, Draven, the Forsaken—vanished into nothingness. Only the echo of the ancient voice remained, its words reverberating through her very soul.

It has begun.

Celestine tried to move, but the weight of the void pressed against her limbs, suffocating and unrelenting. Her breath came in shallow gasps as she fought against the unseen force binding her.

Then, a spark of light—faint, flickering.

A figure emerged from the abyss. His golden eyes burned like molten fire, his silhouette outlined in the glow of something ancient and terrible. Valerius.

"You cannot run from what you are," he murmured, stepping closer. "The past is written in your blood."

Celestine clenched her fists, summoning every ounce of power within her. "I don't belong to the past."

Valerius smiled, dark amusement dancing across his features. "Then why does it call for you?"

Before she could answer, pain erupted through her skull—memories flooding back in violent waves. A castle shrouded in eternal night. A throne bathed in blood. And her own voice, whispering an oath that sent shivers down her spine.

I will stand beside you, until the last star fades.

Celestine staggered, gripping her head. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

A hand reached out—gentle, yet firm. Not Valerius's.

Lucien.

His silver eyes shone through the darkness, filled with raw determination. "Celestine, come back."

She gasped, her vision shifting. The abyss trembled, cracks forming in the void. A roar of frustration echoed through the space as Valerius's form wavered.

"No," he growled, reaching for her. "You are mine."

But Lucien's grip tightened, his warmth breaking through the cold.

A burst of light erupted between them.

And Celestine woke up—gasping, trembling, with Lucien's arms wrapped protectively around her. The battlefield had returned, the war still raging.

But something was different.

Valerius stood across from her, his expression unreadable.

And for the first time—

There was fear in his eyes.

Chapter 26: Fractured Fate

The battlefield felt different now. The clash of steel and magic continued around them, but Celestine's focus was locked onto Valerius. His golden eyes, always filled with arrogance and control, now flickered with something foreign—uncertainty.

Lucien's grip on her arm remained firm, his presence grounding her. Draven moved to her other side, his magic pulsing in the air. They had managed to break Valerius's illusion, but at what cost?

Celestine's mind still throbbed with remnants of the visions he forced upon her. A castle of eternal night. A throne of blood. A promise whispered on lips that once felt familiar.

She didn't have time to untangle the meaning behind them.

Valerius recovered quickly, the moment of vulnerability vanishing like smoke. He straightened, brushing imaginary dust from his cloak, before smirking. "You surprise me, Celestine. Perhaps you are not as weak as I once thought."

Lucien snarled, his claws extending. "You'll regret ever touching her."

Valerius chuckled. "Oh, but I already have. And she remembers." His gaze flicked to Celestine, amusement curling his lips. "Don't you, my queen?"

A sharp pain lanced through Celestine's temple. She flinched, memories teasing the edges of her mind, but she pushed them back with sheer force of will. "You are nothing to me."

Valerius's smirk faltered. Just for a second.

Then the sky cracked.

A deafening roar shook the battlefield. The ground trembled beneath them, splitting open in jagged fractures. Dark tendrils of magic seeped through the cracks, pulsing with malevolent energy.

Draven cursed under his breath. "That's not him."

Celestine's breath caught as a new presence slithered into existence. The air grew impossibly cold, thick with something ancient and far worse than Valerius. Even he turned, his amusement vanishing into a grim expression.

A shadow moved within the rift, its form shifting and curling like smoke. Then, it spoke.

"Finally... you awaken."

Celestine's blood ran cold. The voice was deeper than anything human, vibrating through her bones like an incantation long forgotten. The entity's eyes—if they could even be called that—glowed like twin eclipses in the darkness.

Valerius took a slow step back, tension rippling through his frame. "This wasn't part of the plan."

Celestine forced herself to breathe. Whatever this was, it was worse than Valerius. Worse than anything they had faced before.

And somehow… it had been waiting for her.